Mississippi
Gardens
Newsletter ArchivesJanuary is time
to plan rose planting season
Mississippi Gardens Newspaper and Web Column - January 6, 2003
Growing roses is a hobby for some gardeners and a passion for others. Whether you are a rose enthusiast or just wish you had a single rose bush now is the time to get ready for rose planting season.
Roses are often planted
in January since that is when bare root roses begin to arrive en-masse
at local garden centers. They can also be planted throughout winter,
spring and fall months when found as containerized shrubs in one, two
or three gallon plastic pots.
Bare root roses are available during cold winter months since the dormant season is the only time they will survive the digging process. Ideally, gardeners buy these roses and plant them immediately into well-prepared garden soil. The site must be suitable for roses or modified to accommodate them. Roses love the organic matter of rich, loamy soils that have good internal drainage. Roses will not tolerate waterlogged soil! Choose a site that gets plenty of air ventilation and 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day. If possible, a little shelter from the afternoon sun is desirable.
Roses are also sold as containerized plants that typically have larger, more developed root systems than bare root roses. Containerized plants usually cost more than bare root ones but having the root system intact is clearly an advantage and worth the extra money. Containerized roses may be planted year round with extremely good opportunities for success.
Hybrid roses found in the market place today are grafted onto one of several available rootstocks that give the roses more resistance to environmental stresses. Rootstock can make or break a rose variety. One particular rootstock that is ideal for roses grown in the south is Rosa fortuneana ordinarily referred to as the Double Cherokee or just Fortuneana. It is so popular in south Florida that rose experts there consider it the only rootstock of choice!
Roses grown on the Fortuneana rootstock perform well in almost any type of soil except perhaps heavy clay. It has excellent heat tolerance. Its fibrous root system is very vigorous and may account for the excellent growth and profuse flowering of varieties grown on this rootstock. Fortuneana has superior resistance to nematodes as well as gall, stem dieback and three major root diseases. Some rose varieties planted in Central Florida more than 40 years ago are still surviving and are the size of trees!
The Fortuneana rootstock is only found on containerized roses because of its fibrous root system. It is not as widely available in the marketplace outside of Florida because gardeners are not asking for it and most are unaware of its benefits. There is one Mississippi grower who uses Rosa fortuneana as rootstock but his supplies are limited. So, if you are shopping for roses, ask for this rootstock. If they have it, buy it and enjoy your roses for a lifetime!
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These archived columns were written by Kerry Johnson, a hobby gardener, former weekly newspaper columnist and retired Extension Horticulture Agent for 11 coastal counties in Mississippi.